Governorates of Bahrain

Governorates of Bahrain محافظات البحرين (Arabic)
Category	Unitary state
Location	Kingdom of Bahrain
Number	4 Governorates
Populations	91,450 (Southern Governorate) – 497,000 (Capital Governorate)
Areas	98 km2 (38 sq mi) (Capital Governorate) – 1,130 km2 (438 sq mi) (Southern Governorate)
Government	governate government, National government
Subdivisions	Constituencey

There are four Governorates in Bahrain; the Capital, Northern, Southern and Muharraq. There had previously been five until September 2014, when the Central Governorate was abolished.

The first municipality in Bahrain was the 8-member Manama municipality which was established in July 1919. Members of the municipality were elected annually; the municipality was said to have been the first municipality to be established in the Arab world. The municipality was in charge of cleaning roads and renting buildings to tenants and shops. By 1929, it undertook road expansions as well as opening markets and slaughterhouses. In 1958, the municipality started water purification projects. In 1960, Bahrain comprised four municipalities including Manama, Hidd, Al Muharraq, and Riffa. Over the next 30 years, the 4 municipalities were divided into 12 municipalities as settlements such as Hamad Town and Isa Town grew. These municipalities were administered from Manama under a central municipal council whose members are appointed by the king. After September 22nd, 2014, Bahrain was split into four governorates. These governorates are:

The first municipal elections to be held in Bahrain after independence in 1971, was in 2002. The most recent was in 2014.

A specific number of adjacent city blocks are grouped together to form an area (listed as area 1, area 2 etc.). Each of these areas forms a constituency in the country's electorate. Every four years, elections are held in these constituencies, with each constituency electing its own MP. The most recent election was in the Bahraini parliamentary by-election in 2011.

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